


Ah, what the hell. I don't get that long of a Lifespan anyway.

by PumpkinStew



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Genre: Everyone except Rocket dies, Other, Rocket-Centric, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 09:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2186997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinStew/pseuds/PumpkinStew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ah, what the hell, I don't get that long of a lifespan anyway."</p><p>Rocket's words couldn't have been proven so wrong when somehow, he ends up living the longest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ah, what the hell. I don't get that long of a Lifespan anyway.

_"Quill, I've lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies." Gamora had said, as she stood up from her spot. "I will be grateful to die among my friends."_

_These words silences the whole team, until Drax stood up and placed his hand on Peter's shoulders. "You're an honourable man, Quill." He said aloud, smiling solemnly and looking into Peter's eyes with genuine respect. "I will fight beside you. And in the end, I will see my wife and daughter. "_

_Upon those words, Groot stood up, and said aloud: "I am Groot"._

_And as everyone stared down at the most reluctant member of the Team, Rocket sighed in resignation._

_"Ah, what the hell, I don't get that long of a lifespan anyway."_

 

Of course, if he'd looked back on these words many years later, Rocket words couldn't have been proven so terribly, terribly wrong.

 

* * *

Drax was the first to go, it shouldn't have come as such a surprise.He's reckless and always out on the front lines, but during most of the years they had worked together, he'd always recovered from any kind of injuries without any problems.

He'd taken so many gun shots like it was nothing. When he nearly drowned on Knowhere (Courtesy of Rolan), all it took was a pierce in his chest by Groot for his body to drain the liquid out and he'd recovered from that so quickly, like it wasn't some kind of big deal.

It had all happened during what seemed like any other mission. The objective of the team was to evacuate a city which was under attack by a particularly dangerous group of bandits whose name Rocket had long forgotten.

All seemed well at first. Peter, Gamora and Drax were in the front lines as per usual, fending off their attackers who were hell bent on killing anyone within their sight. Meanwhile, Rocket and Groot were in charge of evacuating the citizens, and make sure that the number of casualties were kept to the minimal.

Then a huge blast was launched from a particularly large canon that nobody had time to react, nobody except Drax, who saw a young girl about to be hit by the blast.

A huge explosion was heard as the blast made impact, making everyone on the battlefield freeze up and by the time the smoke cleared up, all Rocket could see was Drax huddling over the little girl, and bleeding profusely from his chest.

With little to no time to waste, the rest of the Guardians quickly used the distraction to eliminate the remaining attackers, before rushing over to their injured comrade's side.

It was a miracle that the girl alone had survived, for the blast had pierced Drax straight through his lungs.

Rocket knew, in his gut instinct that this was one wound that Drax would not survive.

Even as he laid in the rubble of the ruins of the city, Drax was still coughing up huge quantites of blood with the whole team by his side.

Peter was yelling at Drax to keep his eyes open, pressing his bloodstained uniform on Drax's chest to put some pressure on the wound. Gamora had let Drax use her lap as a pillow, but she was obviously scared. Groot stood, towering above everyone else, to protect his team and his fallen comrade. But his eyes laid on Drax all the while.

Drax had simply looked at Rocket, and with his last few breaths, asked: "The child, is she safe?" Rocket couldn't bring himself to retort with one of his usual sarcastic remarks, and simply nodded at him. Drax smiled in relief and laid down once more.

Despite Peter's yelling at him to stay awake, Drax closed his eyes, and didn't open them ever again.

The funeral was small and private, attended only by the Guardians and a few Nova Corps Members. They'd wanted to bury Drax with his wife and child, but with his entire planet destroyed, they'd had to make do with burying him on the closest planet they could find.

It was a lovely planet, the plants were lush and the scenery was majestic. But the guardians had no time to enjoy the scenery for they were mourning over the loss of their comrade and friend.

Afterwards, the Milano didn't quite feel the same.

 

* * *

 

Gamora was the second to leave, only after a few years after Drax's death.

Nebula had returned, vengeful and bent on taking Gamora out. And she wasn't alone. With an army of god-knows-what accompanying her, they'd ambushed The Milano during one of it's patrol runs.

The Guardians had managed to fend off their attackers for the most part, but Nebula managed to board the ship, and had a rather angry reunion with her adoptive Sister.

It was a final showdown between the two of them, with a rather, war-ridden and heavily injured Nebula, and a tired, wounded Gamora, they fought each other till the bitter end.

The fight lasted for a good half and hour, with Nebula being pushed back by Gamora, and being no match for Gamora's faster reflexes and agility. Meanwhile, the rest of the team managed to overcome the remaining ambushers, and Nova Corps ships had arrived to back them up.

But then, Nebula brought out a hidden knife, and angrily launched it towards her younger sister.

It all happened within seconds, but Rocket could do nothing but watch in horror as Nebula plunged the knife deep into Gamora's chest.

But with her remaining strength, Gamora brought out her own hidden blade, and slit the throat of her mad sister, finally killing her off, but at a huge price.

Peter was crying and holding Gamora close to him, cradling her in his arms and yelling at her not to leave them, that they weren't ready to lose another one. But Gamora smiled one last time and with a hoarse voice, Rocket heard her say softly: "Let me hold all of your hands, please".

Peter held her hand, while Groot and Rocket placed theirs over his.

She looked at them with sorrowful, yet calming eyes. With her final breath, she'd smiled. "It was an honour to have fought with you all, dear friends."

They buried her body close to Drax's.

 

* * *

 

Groot's death, ironically enough, while it was the saddest for Rocket, wasn't really the most tragic for him.

Flora Colossus are not immortal. While they are extremely durable and have very, very long lives, they would soon wither and die one day.

Groot was lucky when there were still pieces left of him after the Ronan Saga on Xandar many years ago.

Heck, he was lucky to have even been able to regrow himself anew.

But the regeneration from near-death and all the dangers during every single mission; all the regrowing of limbs, using himself as a shield for his team, nearly being destroyed over and over again-

All of this had taken a huge toll on Groot's lifespan, something both Rocket and himself knew. After all, all living things were bound to die one day, even Groot himself.

And they were painfully reminded of this after one mission had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Resulting in Peter breaking one of his arms, Rocket losing a significant amount of fur and Groot, well, losing both of his arms after they were cleanly sliced off- again.

Groot whined and moaned as they spent their time recuperating in a nearby hospital, while Rocket listened to him and huffed. "Quit whining, ya' big baby! It'll grow back!"

They do grow back, but painfully slowly.

It's only after one week, one bloody week, when Groot's arms finally completed its regeneration, looking anew.

But both Groot and Rocket knew why it would have taken so long for Groot to regrow his arms, why it took one week instead of the usual few hours. Groot's body was aging, and was unable to cope with the sudden injury. His body system was slowing down.

They try to avoid talking about it. But soon, signs began popping up everywhere, to the point where it was too difficult to ignore. Groot's movements and reflexes were beginning to slow down, and he was also unable to create as much tendrils as he would have in the past. His bark was drying and beginning to show signs of withering, and it's after a piece of his bark fall off that Rocket can't bear to deny the reality of the situation no longer.

He explains the concept of Groot's lifecycle to Peter. No, Groot won't be able to regenerate like last time. He was far too old, and the last time was lucky because the branch Rocket regrew was still healthy.

Peter was angry at first. Angry at Rocket, angry at Groot, angry at himself. But after the anger, came depression, and after that, came acceptance.

He noticed the small things Peter began to do for Groot, as if to make use of all the time they had together left. Whenever they decided to have a movie night, Peter always let Groot sit on the comfy side of the couch. Whenever Groot seemed a bit too dehydrated for his own taste, Peter was always armed with plenty of water for his comrade.

And soon, they let Groot retire from missions altogether, at least give the guy a proper rest before he passes away. Groot wasn't happy about this at first, but he accepted it gradually, as if realizing that he would do nothing but slow them down out in the battlefield.

Hell, the both of them spend as much time as they can with the old tree. Peter lets Groot pick a movie during one of their many movie nights (Because he can't deny Groot's great tastes either). Rocket spends more time curled up Groot's lap whenever he naps instead of making bombs. Peter dances for Groot because Groot actually appreciates his smooth moves whilst Rocket just rolls his eyes. Rocket spends more time talking about the past with Groot, as they both reminisce on their partnership and the Guardians.

And one day, as Rocket laid in Groot's lap, he felt Groot slowly carass his cheeks, and he looked up to find his friend withering quickly, with his wooden body falling apart.

Rocket could feel tears welling up in his eyes once more, but he held on to Groot's hand, and refused to let go. Groot smiled with his eyes wide open, seeming to sparkle in the dark room.

"We are Groot". He said one last time, before he closed his eyes, and the body finally withered away.

The familiar heartbeat ceased, and the bark plates which once belonged to the magnificent bastard slowly, but surely dried away. The leaves drooped and Rocket finally let go of the wooden hand, which had gone cold.

He calls for Peter, who didn't say much when he saw the dead husk that was once a being full of life which called itself Groot.

They both expected this to happen. Just not so soon.

The both of them work hard to gather up Groot's remains as much as possible. And likewise, they bury him next to Drax and Gamora.

 

* * *

 

Peter and Rocket spend the next couple of years as a dynamic duo. They accept missions, they fuck it up, and then they blow stuff up. You know, like the good ol' days. It's funny how they both don't spend too much time in mourning.

Perhaps they don't want to let the past affect them, like how it always did in the past. Or perhaps, they knew the other members well enough to know that they wouldn't have wanted them to mourn.

So the two of them do pretty well for just the two of them. And despite being a horribly mismatched pair, they're comfortable with one another all the same. After a job, they'd pretty much spend their time listening to Peter's music, watching Movies they take turns to pick out, shopping for groceries and bomb parts, nursing each other injuries. Essentially, they became inseparable.

And somewhere during these couple of years, they somehow become the best of friends. Rocket would sing along to Peter's music, though he wouldn't admit that he liked it. Peter laughs at the fact that Rocket is a bit of a fan of Nicholas Cage, though he himself gets laughed at for liking some star called Bradley Cooper. Peter picks up some tips on making bombs, which is great whenever he needs to improvise something in the midst of a battle.

They bounce jokes off of each other, laugh with each other, argue with each other, cry with each other, and in general, just understand each other.

But of course, times like these would never last forever.

Peter was showing signs of age finally catching up with him. His reflexes were slowing and it was obvious that he was beginning to show signs of disease. 

With just the two of them left, Rocket didn't want to risk letting Peter go on the battlefield with such circumstances.

They both agree that perhaps, their days of rescuing the Galaxy was over, that perhaps it was time for a proper break. With a bit of paperwork done and submitted to the Xandarian Forces, The Guardians of the Galaxy was officially disbanded. And the two remaining members made a quiet retirement to Earth, where they spent the next few years lounging about in Peter's old home town.

It was a bit of hard work, getting used to the old and horribly ancient technology, but both Peter and Rocket managed to get about just fine, though Rocket scorned having to act like a living stuffed toy sometimes just to avoid having his identity as a talking "Raccoon" revealed and causing an uproar.

No, Earth wasn't ready for him yet.

They spend most of their time in a lakeside Cabin Peter had managed to purchase, and with the money earned from their years as Bounty Hunters/Guardians, they would have a steady income to last for quite a while.

When they weren't re-listening to Awesome Mix Volume 1 or 2 for the millionth time, they would go fishing or play some video games on an old PS3 they'd picked up from somewhere.

Sometimes, they sit outside at night and do a bit of star-gazing. And Peter would ask Rocket the same question every single time.

"Don't you ever miss flying among them?"

And Rocket, in all honesty, he does. But he doesn't want to make Peter feel guilty and blame himself for becoming so old or weak.

So most of the time, Rocket just says: "Not unless I'm flying with everyone."

Then they both become quiet, and just continue to watch the stars.

 

* * *

 

One day, Peter starts falling really, really ill. But he refuses to go see a doctor, and spends most of the next few days coughing up blood and vomiting into the bucket Rocket had placed by his bedside.

Rocket tries to make the best of these days, managing to change the water of the flower vase next to Peter's bed, making sure Peter isn't in too much pain, and staying by his ex-leader's side at all times.

But it's one day, when Peter is lying on his bed, and not sitting up like he usually does, that Rocket knows in his gut, Peter wasn't going to live any longer.

Peter doesn't say anything as he dies. He just holds Rocket's smaller paws and smiles at him. And Rocket understands what he means, and smiles back.

And when Peter finally closes his eyes to sleep, Rocket sits by his bed and holds his hands even then. 

Peter stops breathing in the middle of the night.

Rocket buries him next to Gamora.

And afterwards, he realized that he'd never felt so alone in his entire life.

 

* * *

 

After Peter's funeral, he packs up everything and flies to the distant planet of 4R-D3N. There, he opens his own mechanic shops in the slums, and manages to get on pretty well for another couple of years.

Years of knowledge and experience allows him to fix any broken down space crafts that come his way, and he's almost always inventing some kind of new weapon every week.

Heck, he makes sure to blow something up at least once a month, driving his neighbours insane.

But then, he's visted by the Nova Corps, for they request for his services one last time. A mission, to train and lead a couple of recruits on the front lines of some war the Xandarians had managed to land themselves into, yet again.

Rocket sighed, what good were the Peace Treaties they signed doing if they always managed to land in some kind of fancy-pancy battle every week?!He'd never understand Politics.

The Nova Corps are pretty desperate for help though. Apparently, Rocket is one of the very few left who was suited for the job, given his experience and expertise. Also, it would do wonders for the recruit's morales for a former and notable member of the legendary Guardians of the Galaxy to lead them into battle.

Rocket snorts at the praise they shower on him, but he agrees anyway.If he was going to die, might as well end it with a blast, eh?

 

* * *

 

And so, for the next couple of months, he trains the recruits. One particular recruit named Adam, becomes a good friend of Rocket's.

He's fast, he's a great tactician, and something about the spark in his eyes reminds him about Peter.

When the recruits are deemed ready, they are flown to the front lines. They succeed in many missions, thanks to both Rocket's and Adam's brilliant strategizing and ability to adapt to their situation.

But it was the last mission that was fatal. A mission to recover a piece of vital information from the enemy had gone horribly wrong, resulting in Rocket being trapped inside a burning building and Adam who's crying and screaming and trying to call for back-up on his communicator.

He keeps trying to remove the large cement block that's trapped Rocket's lower body, and Adam's pounding at the block, telling Rocket to stay strong, that back-up would be arriving soon.

But Rocket knows, he just knows, that he won't be getting out anytime soon.

"Run. Go! Adam! Just go!" He yells hoarsely. "You've got a lot of potential, kid. Don't waste it on an old-timer like me."

Adam refuses to leave at first, but Rocket yells at him even more, until Adam just turns around and run, just like Rocket told him to.

And just in time too, for the building was beginning to fall apart all around him.

Rocket closed his eyes, trying to ignore the embers that were beginning to creep up on him. He could feel his vision blurring, and almost, almost feel the familiar warm arms of Groot embracing him.

 

* * *

 

_**"...I'm hooked on a feeling..."** _

He's laying in a familiar, warm bed.

_**"..And I'm high on believing.."** _

He opens his eyes, and it's the familiar walls of the long-gone Milano that he wakes up to. Memories come flooding back into his mind- the flames, Adam's tears, Rocket being trapped under the- oh.

Well, at least he knows why he's on The Milano again.

He can't help but hum along to the song that's playing, especially since he recognizes it as Peter's favourite "Hooked on a feeling".

He gets up and puts on the familiar uniform that was neatly folded and placed next to his bed.

When he's done, he walks out of the door and into the familiar living space of The Milano. It's a bit of a nerve wreck, to see how much has changed while he wasn't around, but he visibly relaxed when he saw, nothing's really changed. In fact, everyone is up and about, doing their own little things as they normally would.

Drax is sitting at his chair, calmly sharpening his daggers. Gamora is sipping a drink from one of Peter's cheesy yellow mugs while reading something on the tablet she's holding.

A rather youthful-looking Peter is trying to make a tower out of Poker cards, placing them carefully and with huge concentration. And Groot's being... well Groot. He's standing by Peter's side and watching his move very carefully, gasping when the tower nearly collapses.

Everything's still the same, and these magnificent bastards are still the same old dorks they'd always been.

Rocket can't help but smile, and perhaps, just cry a little. But of course, he ain't gonna let them have the benefit of seeing him crying. So he heads straight for the kitchen, because he's hungry and in the mood for something sweet. 

"Hey, has anyone seen the Pancake Batter?" He asks aloud, not caring that he hadn't bothered to announce his presence beforehand.

So all eyes shot in the direction of Rocket, and everyone is obviously surprised to see Rocket up and about so soon.

Rocket ignores the stares and continues to dig through the cupboards for that much-needed Pancake batte. And when he finally finds it, he turns around only to  find the whole team standing at the entrance of the Kitchen, watching him with surprised and concerned looks.

Rocket rolls his eyes. "What? You're all acting like I DIED or something." He says it so beautifully and so sarcastically, he can't help but feel proud of himself.

But he has no time to give himself a self-five for such a clever comment because everyone rushes towards him and pulls him into a huge group hug.

Or should he say Groot hug, because it's literally Groot who's hugging him the hardest, while everyone just sort of put their arms around Groot's large physique.

 

* * *

 

"Whoa- Hey now- Can't... Breath!" Rocket exclaims, trying his darnest to push the huge tree away because he literally can't breathe and he was going to die again at this rate. After a few more painful seconds, Groot finally lets go of Rocket and places him on the floor, allowing Rocket to take a huge breath of fresh air.

"You could've told us when you had woken, my friend." Drax said in the loud, booming voice Rocket hadn't heard in so long.

"We were wondering when you were going to join us. For the smallest, it's strange how you outlived us." Gamora huffed.

"I am Groot" Groot said.

"C'mon, Rocket." Peter just laughed. "Let's go make some of those pancakes. We all have some catching up to do with you."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, just wow.
> 
> This was a piece of work I've been meaning to post in a while. It's always been there, just kind of sitting in a folder titled "GOTG Fanfiction" and the amount of procrastination that went through me before I finally willed myself to finish this was just so much.
> 
> I'm actually pretty proud of this. My first GOTG fanfiction, and definitely not my last. (Even if I still have yet to finish some of my other works hehe)
> 
> All in all, this was a lot of fun to work on. I cried on my first read-through of the fic, though there are definitely areas I still need a lot of work on.
> 
> So what do you guys think? Feel free to leave a comment! Don't worry, I don't bite! (Not a lot, anyway <3)


End file.
